+1 on the a$$. I wouldn't have even called this critical until 9 or so if that's when other offices (including yours) usually open.

When you're rotating at the early office do you have the option to come in at 9? Is this public facing?

I don’t think you did anything wrong. Opening was late by 5 min which doesn’t sound like a big deal. If no one showed by 815, I’d have texted boss saying “I’ve been here since 745 but no one is here yet”. She sounds like an a$$.

Impossible to say how bad without knowing your boss. If it were my industry, I would say your boss was a little rattled and what came out of her mouth was an attempt at fixing something that had already happened. Futile, and maybe a little unkind, but forgotten by noon.

Now if there was a client cooling their heels and angry about the 5 minutes delay, your boss might catch heat and then take it out on you.

Your boss is an oddball. Call her next time, but otherwise let it go. She sounds like a micromanager.

Today I was rotating at a different office. The office officially opens at 8am, but a permanent employee typically arrives at 7:45 to open the office (I don’t have keys). I arrived just before 7:45, but the other person hadn’t shown up yet. By 7:55, still no one was there, so I started trying to figure out who was supposed to be opening the office so I could call them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything helpful.

The other offices (including mine) don’t open until 9am, and no one would be there until around 8:45. So, I told myself I’d give the person until 8am to show up, then I’d call the office to try to get in touch with someone. It didn’t even occur to me to call my boss because it wasn’t even 8am yet, and she typically doesn’t come in until 10am. I don’t think it would be appropriate to call her at home that early or that soon.

Around 8:05, the person finally arrived. She had been in a fender bender and had already contacted her boss, who was on the way to help open the office. Somehow, my boss found out about the delay and called me, upset that I hadn’t contacted her immediately when I arrived and saw no one there at 7:45. I was caught off guard and apologized, explaining that the situation was already being handled and I wasn’t sure what she could have done differently. I’m still confused as to why I got in trouble.

How bad was this mistake? And what should I say to my boss when I see her next? I feel pretty unsettled about the whole situation.